Martin Joseph Laverty Jr. passed away peacefully in Colonial Heights, Virginia on Monday, March 29, 2021, with his son, daughter-in-law, and fiancée at his side. After complications stemming from his previous bouts with cancer, he underwent surgery in January, spent time in the ICU in February and rehabilitation in March, but was ultimately unable to recover. He was tough as nails – a man who had previously pulled through multiple rounds of cancer and always kept fighting. We attribute that resilience to both his abundant strength and boundless stubbornness. He was 68 years old.

In addition to being a fighter to the very end, Martin wore many other titles proudly, father, husband, uncle, Benz-owner, home-builder, nearly life-long Earlysville resident — and most notably, inventor. Some of his shining contributions that have impacted almost every human being in the modern world include the invention of the auto-flush toilet, which he dreamed up and patented in 1988, along with the sensor-activated sink, which he patented in 1990. Until his dying day he worked on modernizing the way we interact with valves and fixtures; in his lifetime he accumulated 10 patents. How he was able to become such a brilliant engineer without any formal training or college education continues to baffle, amaze and wholly inspire us.

His interests were few, but he was deeply passionate about all of them. He was a superfan of all things Apple; you could find him in line getting the latest iPhone or Apple Watch on every release day, or frequently sending articles about Apple rumors to his friends and family. Legend has it that he wrote letters to Steve Jobs and Tim Cook about his ideas; it is unknown if any were ever received or implemented. He wasn't into sports, film, music, books, or travel, but if one's house could be considered a hobby, that would have been Martin's. He poured most of his free time into running and caring for his property — whether that meant mowing his yard, building a new barn, making renovations, or upgrading to the latest in fancy smart home tech. His home meant so much to him because it's the same land where he spent nearly his entire life, having grown up at his mother's house on adjacent property in Earlysville. He was originally born in Queens, New York.

Martin was also a hopeless romantic. He deeply loved his late wife of 30 years Wanda Laverty, who passed away in 2013. He found new love recently with his fiancée Emma Giles, who he had hoped to marry as soon as he got out of the hospital. The family thanks her for making him young again and giving him new reason to live over the last four years. Martin was wholeheartedly proud of his two surviving sons, Brenton Laverty and Austin Laverty, and bragged about them to anyone who would listen. In the years since their mother passed, his sons grew closer to Martin and they got to know each other in a new light. In addition to his sons and fiancée, he is survived by his nieces, Dawn Bub, Cathy Bub, Allison Morris, Christine Laverty, and Susan Laverty. His eldest son, Robbie Laverty and his wife, Wanda preceded him in death.

The family will hold a small outdoor celebration of his life and place his ashes to rest at Holly Memorial Gardens at 12 p.m. on Saturday, April 24, 2021.